


Spock's Brain:  A Puzzle With Missing Pieces

by Cheree_Cargill



Series: Glimpses of a Life [65]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Brain Damage, Brain Surgery, Childhood Memories, Gen, Rehabilitation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 15:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15464853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheree_Cargill/pseuds/Cheree_Cargill
Summary: Spock's brain has been restored after extensive surgery, but he still faces many weeks of rehab before restored to duty.  And he still can't remember some things.





	Spock's Brain:  A Puzzle With Missing Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount Studios, Inc. The story contents are the creation and property of Cheree Cargill and is copyright (c) 2018 by Cheree Cargill. This story is Rated PG.

_Stardate:_ _5466._ _5._ _First Officer Spock recording._

I have returned to duty after sixty days on medical leave on Vulcan. The purpose was to finish the surgery to restore my brain to its proper working order. Although Dr. McCoy did an admirable job in the restoration surgery he performed on Sigma Draconis VI, when he began to lose the knowledge he acquired from the Teacher, the truth is that he botched the delicate procedure.

I seemed to be restored but the first clue of trouble was my uncharacteristic talkativeness and exuberance. The hormone levels in my system were running wild, my brain was swelling, and I realize now that most of my body was numb or tingling. Still, my human companions perceived my condition as a good sign and we returned to the surface, collected Mr. Chekov and our security guards, and beamed back to the _Enterprise_.

Upon materialization, I was suddenly struck by an intense wave of vertigo and I remember missing my step off the transporter platform and slamming into the deck with force. The next thing I remember is waking up in intensive care at the Vulcan Science Academy Medical Center, Neurological Unit. I had been unconscious for ten days.

I learned that upon my collapse in the transporter room, I had slammed my head against the deck and had jarred loose part of Dr. McCoy's repair work. I was rushed to sick bay and, when the good doctor realized that I was dying, he placed me in cryogenic suspension as the ship sped toward Vulcan where I underwent extensive brain surgery by the planet's best neurologists. My father used his influence to call in other specialists from Earth and Denobula. Together, the team of surgeons correctly repaired the nerve attachments, balanced the fluid level and neurotransmitters, and restored my body and mind to a nominative working order. But I was kept in a medically induced coma for six more days as my body healed and stabilized itself.

Once I was released from the intensive care unit, I entered the recovery facility where I underwent physical and occupational rehabilitation. The Vulcan brain is resilient but nothing like its removal and reattachment has ever happened and both the doctors and I found that there were things my body and mind had to relearn. It was as if I had suffered a massive stroke. For instance, I found myself suffering aphasia at times. My brain knew the word it wanted to use but my mouth would not form it. My left side remained numb and fumbling for several weeks as the nerve endings reformed and began to transmit signals to their targets again. The first time I tried to stand and walk, I almost collapsed and only the rehab attendants saved me from falling. Thankfully, I am right-handed because my left hand would not cooperate in picking up items or pressing buttons or switches.

After three weeks in intensive rehab on Vulcan, I was transferred to Earth and Starfleet Medical's care. There, I underwent continued rehabilitation until, after another three weeks, I was deemed recovered mentally and physically enough to return to duty. The Vulcan body is extremely robust and the Vulcan brain is moreso. I found that I retained my training and knowledge, stored in my brain as if in a living data bank, able to be tapped as needed, and thankfully which returned quickly as I recovered.

But I also find that there are blank spaces in my memory. Areas of my brain were damaged during my ordeal. I am able to re-educate myself with tapes and logs, but things are missing, mostly from my childhood and personal life. I find photos of my mother and myself as a child, but I cannot remember why they are significant. There is a holopic of an old Human man holding a small Vulcan boy. Is this my grandfather and myself? I can't remember him. Another photo is of this same boy with a Terran animal in his arms. I recognize it as a cat. Did we have a cat? I remember i‑Chaya, but the feline is only vaguely familiar. Xander? Alexander? Was that his name? I cannot recall.

I have a detached memory of walking on a beach with red sand. The water is warm and the sands ever warmer. I hear the sound of laughter in my memory. Is it my laugh? Is it my mother's? Surely not my father's, for laughter is unknown to Vulcans. Disjointed or missing memories of a life that I know is mine, yet I cannot integrate them into what I identify. I hope that, as I recover, they will begin to come back. I feel that they are important but I cannot tell why.

The Vulcan neurosurgeons who operated on me inform me that I will likely have to undergo further procedures in the coming years before my brain is fully restored to nearly 100% function. It is disconcerting to know that I will have to undergo more work, although they assure me it will not be as extensive as that which I have endured recently. It will not even be necessary to have the top of my cranium opened again, for the medical knowledge gained by their work on restoring my brain has advanced surgical techniques markedly.

My hair is regrowing and is almost back to the length it was when I was rushed to Vulcan for treatment. The large scar on my scalp has completely healed and is rapidly being covered and even now is no longer visible. But I can feel it when I run my fingers along its length. It is a reminder of a memory that, unfortunately, I will never forget.

It was an … interesting experience.

THE END

 


End file.
